Lawyers under attack for £250m NHS fees bonanza

The amount paid out by the NHS Litigation Authority has almost doubled in five yearsChris Harris/The Times

The NHS complaints system should be “completely overhauled” in the face of rising litigation costs that now take up a quarter of the annual £1 billion bill for clinical negligence claims, an MP is demanding.

The amount paid out by the NHS Litigation Authority has almost doubled in five years, with legal costs of £250 million. In 2009-10 the total bill for claims was £650 million, with £150 million of it going to cover legal costs.

Valerie Vaz, Labour MP for Walsall South and a member of the health select committee, said: “It is a matter of concern that litigation costs are rising when this money should be used for patients and the frontline services.